2010
2010 – International Space Station (ISS) – Snapshot
The ISS is a joint project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 of ESA’s member states to build and operate a research facility in LEO that can host crews of up to six people. Assembly of the ISS in space began in 1998.
2010 – Space Products and Services Overview Snapshot
Products and services from space permeate daily life in a number of ways, many of which are not obvious. Fleets of satellites monitor the Earth’s lands, oceans, and atmosphere, helping us improve our quality of life in a sustainable manner. Communications satellites provide greater connectivity, allowing humans to interact with each other and a wide array of technological systems.
2010 – U.S. Military X-37B – Snapshot
An unmanned U.S. Air Force space plane, the X-37B, was launched in April 2010 aboard an Atlas V rocket. The X-37B remained in orbit for ## days, testing its capabilities and conducting a variety of experiments on behalf of the Air Force. Some international observers expressed concerns that the secrecy shrouding this vehicle could be interpreted by other nations as evidence that the U.S. was developing a space-based weapon. Other space technology experts believe the most likely mission of the X-37B is reconnaissance, given its ability to land, change payloads, and alter its orbit more rapidly than a LEO satellite.
2010 – Military Satellite Overview – Snapshot
One classification of satellite is based not just on the spacecraft’s capabilities. Military satellites are generally characterized by the end users they are built to serve, not the type of service provided. Although they may perform the same functions as their non-defense counterparts, such as communication or remote sensing, they are instead operated by national intelligence or defense personnel. Armed forces from across the globe also rely on leased capacity from commercial satellite operators.
2010 – Satellite Orbits – Snapshot
The closer proximity to the Earth also greatly reduces signal delay from a LEO satellite to ground stations and allows for smaller receivers on the ground. While these attributes are beneficial, these lower orbits are challenging in that these satellites constantly move in and out of view of individual ground receivers. If it is necessary to maintain a continuous link, a fleet of spacecraft is required to form what is called a satellite constellation. LEO is home to communications constellations belonging to mobile satellite services companies such as Iridium and Globalstar.
2010 – Workforce and Education Metrics – Snapshot
Measures of space-related human capital are useful to policymakers, industry leaders, and independent analysts because they enable exploration of those aspects of space activity with the most direct impact on people’s everyday lives: jobs, wages, and education.
2010 – Satellite Overview – Snapshot
Most modern satellites are specialized machines designed typically to serve a single specific mission, such as communications, remote sensing, scientific observation, or navigation. While the general trend over the past several decades has been to make larger and more powerful spacecraft, there has also been a growing interest in launching extremely small objects, often measuring no more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) on a side. Such spacecraft, called cubesats, have been developed by many universities and other organizations for scientific experimentation and technology development.
2010 – U.S. Space Industry Employment Snapshot
2010 – Space Industry Demographics – Snapshot
In the United States, NASA continues to be a significant source of demand for new space professionals. Over the past five years, NASA has hired more than . . .
2010 – U.S. Education Trends – Snapshot
Considered together, recent NASA and U.S. aerospace company hiring statistics indicate that there is a combined demand for thousands of new S&E workers each year in the United States, a growing proportion of whom are aged 35 or less. These new hires will most likely need at least a bachelor’s degree, and many will require either a master’s or doctoral degree.